Meeting A Fox
by justawriter15
Summary: Losing your parents and being raised by their friend for 5 years is not the best picture for a family. Yugure Chui wishes for something more in her life. What happens when she uncovers the history between her parents and being the bearer of a fox? Rate and Review when you feel like it. This will probably be just 10 chapters or less...
1. Chapter 1

Meeting a fox

Prologue

It was the night before Christmas and a couple was on their way to see their daughter. Suddenly, a shining fox with nine tails appears in front. The car stopped and the couple came out. They seemed unfazed by the creature and bowed to it.

"Your strings of fate are about to be cut today. I decided to inform you because you have been kind to me and my kind. Is there anything I could do for you?" The fox said to the couple.

"So it's today huh? We have a daughter at home. Please take care of her" They said to the fox. It nodded its head and left. The woman looked at her husband and smiled and also nodded. They returned to the car and held each others' hand. The car traveled in silence for a few hours when they met with fate as the creature said.

The next day…

"_Yugure Hiro and his wife Hana, famous photographer and model died in an accident last night on their way home. Their daughter was left all alone at home with a friend of her parents, Mr. Fujimoto. He is now going to be little Chui's guardian. _"

"_Now today's weather forecast will still have snow… Click_" and the television were turned off. Chui looked at Mr. Fujimoto and started crying as she realized what had happened.

A couple days later…

Chui was praying to the Fox shrine that her parents take her to everyday. She was silent and Mr. Fujimoto watched her. Suddenly, she saw a small, colorful object beside the right gate of the shrine. She sees a box and her eyes widen. It says, "For our beloved daughter, Chui" She opened and peeked inside and saw two pieces of paper. It had weird letters in it, under was a red chain necklace, and a picture of their family.


	2. Chapter 2

Meeting a fox Chapter 1

Chui's P.O.V

It's 7:00 in the morning. I get up to wash my face and brush my teeth. The morning sun tried to seep in the living room, of my house, through my red curtains. It's awfully quiet here and I feel kind of...well, alone. Oh, almost forgot to introduce myself. I am Yugure Chui. I am 17 years old and currently working part-time in a flower shop. If you're wondering, yes, I still go to school but it's at night. I am working in the most popular flower shop in Tokyo. It's called Amahara's flower shop. I go there in two hours for opening. My boss gave me some spare keys since I clean the place too.

An hour later...

Ok! I am all prepared to go to work. I don't think I have to use my bike to get there today. I quickly grab my keys, bag and my bokken. It's for my aikido in the afternoon to keep my mind open for when I go to school. My body clock is really off balance. Ha ha haa... Time to go.

Amahara is not really far from where I live. It usually takes me fifteen minutes...what's that? It's really black. Oh, a cat! I walk towards it and pet it. I guess I am really good with befriending cats. Other animals too but I see cats almost every day. Stepping out of the cat's way, I go to Amahara.

Ding ding... I open the door.

"Hello Fujimoto-san. How are you today? I greet and smile at my boss, Mr. Fujimoto. He looks at me and smiles back.

"I am feeling fine. Thank you... You came at the right time." He says while holding a piece of paper. He quickly gives it to me.

"What is it?" I inquire.

"It is an order from a customer. She will pick it up later so you have time." He quickly gestures to the piano at the back of the room. I shake my head then go over to my station. He smiles sadly but continues his work anyway.

The order was a bouquet of white lilies. Hmm... It must be for a death anniversary. I gather the flowers and neatly get the paper and plastic for covers. I wrap it in a white ribbon and put it in the counter. I remember my parents. Their death anniversary will be a week from today. They died in a car accident just before Christmas when I was 12. I smile and think about how proud they must be of what I am today, especially when they weren't there to guide me. I followed every instruction they used to tell me before to get to who I am today. I am perfectly happy but I guess I still feel lonely.

Ding ding...

"Welcome to Amahara!" I hear Mr. Fujimoto greet and a woman came in. I guess it must be for her mother. She looks at the bouquet I made. I see her smile and say something to Mr. Fujimoto. He points at me and the woman looks in my direction.

"Thank you. My parents would love these." She says and I bowed a bit as she left.

"You are really the best one to arrange the flowers." Mr. Fujimoto tells me and I shake my head.

A few hours later... It is 1:00 P.M.

Sara and Kousuke arrive and set their stuff in their area. Sara is in charge of the orders through the phone while Kousuke delivers them with his motorbike. They are good friends of mine since the time I met them when I decided to work here. Did I mention Mr. Fujimoto is Sara's father? Ok now I mentioned it. I continue making another bouquet... And that makes 20 for today. I make about 15 more and pack up my stuff. It's time for my aikido and pick up the red case. You probably notice I love red. It's like blood...Hahaha way to creep you out right? Ok time to go.

"See you tomorrow Sara, Kousuke, Mr. Fujimoto." I waved and left the store. I ran back to my yard and got my bike. I ride it and 20 minutes pass. I am currently in the Inari Dojo and parked my bike outside. I went to the locker room and changed my clothes. My peers arrived shortly after I did. Kurikawa-san is the captain of the team and though I am the youngest and the only girl in the team, he gives us the same training. However I don't pay for the classes, instead I clean the entire dojo afterwards. I also have a key for the dojo. Don't worry that is all the keys I have.

I sit in my place and wait for my 11 "brothers" and captain to start class. I only do this for 2 hours and if we just came from a competition, Kurikawa-san lets me use the archery field in the back. He is a guy in mid-thirties and is married with a daughter in preschool.

These people around me are very nice and treat me very well. I guess you can say my life is very normal. I am totally fine with the way I live... I just wish there was something more to it.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2 Meeting

It was a full moon and the crimson color has spread all over the place. In the forest in the outskirts of the city of Tokyo, a shadow looms over a pond in the middle. A fox with five golden tails drank water, causing ripples and in a while, another fox enters the area. Its nine tails appear behind it and a light brightened the pond. After a few minutes, the place dimmed again and two guys replaced the once shadows of the foxes. Each of them had ears on top their heads and their tails behind them. The five-tailed fox had jet black hair while the other had silver hair. The older of the two was the silver and their tails show their age.

"Listen. There was a family before that helped us be hidden in this forest. However, fate has decided to take them away, only their daughter was left. I want you to get to know her because she is our next bearer, just after her mother." He said to the lad. Unlike the leader, he had black eyes and pale skin while the leader had red eyes and a little color.

"So they were the ones who gave us our freedom... I don't mind seeing her I guess." He replied as if uninterested.

"Kitamura Yuki, I give you the permission to leave the Amahara Lake and go to her. Meet her and let us watch. Maybe fate will tangle your red strings..." Iku, the leader said to Yuki followed by a chuckle. Yuki shrugged and quickly left Amahara.

"Maybe their future will be just like the previous bearer and our leader..." As soon as that was said, Iku disappeared and the white moon was shining bright in the night sky.

Chui's P.O.V

Hello again! I am currently in the last class of the day...er...I mean the night. English is really fun when it's about poetry. I like poems but writing them is way complicated for me. Writing a good poem, that is, bad poems can be written in 5 seconds. I wasn't sure if I needed glasses but I thought I saw the moon turn red. It was pretty.

Suddenly, I saw my teacher waving a hand in front of me. She is Sakamoto Yoko and is in her late twenties. I like her classes and she is from overseas but speaks really good Japanese.

"What are you looking outside for? Class has ended fifteen minutes ago." She tells me and I look at the clock. Yup, she's right.

"Sorry Sakamoto-sensei I was just wondering why the moon was red a while ago." I raised my hand up to my head and quickly packed my things.

"What do you mean? The moon was full white today...How about painting it for me?" She said and winked at me. She likes my paintings and I guess I should. I quickly nod and leave the room.

"I wonder when she will notice it..." Yoko looks at Chui's retreating figure and looked at the moon.

The hands tell me that it is nearly 11 o'clock and my house is about a mile away. This area in this neighborhood is really dark at this time but I'm used to it. It's not really that bad tonight since the moon is still shining up in the sky. I could ride my bike and just hurry home but no one's waiting for me so I don't need to worry. Haa...I let out a sigh, remembering that I might not be able to sleep full time. I got homework and all that other stuff. Oh well, I suppose I should pay a visit in the backyard again. The wind was very pleasant today and I was in an okay mood. The weather was not warm and it was a little cold with the wind, most likely because it's the middle of fall.

"I am going to cook some curry today and maybe some miso tomorrow morning. An offering would be good for the shrine too..." I could hear my voice trail off as the wind grew stronger all of a sudden. The street was filled with utter silence; even I couldn't help but think it's a little weird. I shouldn't be freaked out. Come on call down Chui. It's just the wind and a sudden change in weather.

_A shadow of a cat?_ I thought to myself and looked more closely. Ah! It's the cat from this morning. She has pretty shiny eyes. Should I go to her? Maybe tomorrow, I really need to get home.

Exactly 1 minute and 46 seconds later...

"Tonight has been interesting and even if no one's waiting for me home, I will ride my bike back home."

Third person P.O.V.

As soon as Chui got on her bike, her feet secured on the pedals, she made sure her school bag and her bokken are not going to fall. In a second, she rode her bike a little faster and got to her house, in less than five minutes, which was half a mile away.

Crank… and the gate was opened. She enters and parks her bike in the backyard. Chui goes through her bag and takes out her house key, opening the door. The house was silent and dark; it looked the same from when she left it this morning. She removes her shoes and turns on the light in the living room.

Chui's P.O.V

_Huh?_ _It doesn't turn on…I better get the flashlight from the cabinet in the hall. It's really hard to maneuver without light; gotta be careful though, I don't want to trip on anything. Ack! Great just when I say it I trip on my school bag. _I pick my bag and bokken up and carry them on me. After a while, I got to the cabinet and got the flashlight

Third person P.O.V

_"_Ah! There it is." Chui grabs the flashlight and went upstairs to her room. Weird enough, when she turns the lights on, it does. She changes from her uniform to a white shirt and brown pants. She looks at the mirror and sees a girl with brown eyes and short, black hair. She desperately ties in into a pony tail and leaves to make dinner. To her shock, the lights on each room were on and nothing seems out of order. _How suspicious! I wonder if someone was here._ She shrugs, turning to enter the kitchen. Deciding to make some curry rice, she gathers the ingredients and starts cooking.

A few minutes later…

"They're done! Now for the miso tomorrow…" she prepares them as the curry was cooking. She looks into the fridge while taking some vegetables out. Taking out the seasonings from the cupboard, Chui mixes them into the food. Just as the curry was almost done, there was noise from the backyard. It sounded like someone knocked over a flower pot.

"Oh no, what about my precious roses?!" Chui rushes to the garden and find nothing but a broken, empty pot. _Huh, what is happening around here?_ Picking up the shattered pieces, she puts them in a bag and throws them in the trash. _Something is definitely wrong around here._ She hurries towards her room and takes hold of her bokken. Raising her guard, she returns to the kitchen and resumes cooking.

Chui's P.O.V

A few hours pass…

_What was that about? Oh well, I should sleep already, I have a lot to do tomorrow. _Closing my eyes, I easily fell asleep. For some reason, I woke up and when I glanced at my bedside table's clock it says 5:31 A.M. I get up and found myself to be full of energy. I didn't even get enough sleep but I guess it's normal? I heat the miso then prepared to eat.

"Itadakimasu…" I ate my breakfast and now the clock says its 6:04. _I suppose I should head out for now. Where do I go?_

"Of course, Amahara Lake should be quite peaceful at this moment." I take a bath and wore my school uniform. _I still have classes today since its Friday…_ There is still two hours left before I go to work so I should go right now. I reached the lake just in time for the sun rise. The sun rose and the water sparkling. It was absolutely beautiful. My parents used to take me and we would have a picnic with a few rabbits and squirrels. It was a few times a year; I get to be so close to nature. I close my eyes and listen to the sound of the forest. As much as I love to stay here, I have to open up the store for Mr. Fujimoto. I get on my bike, which I brought with me to get here, since it would obviously take me hours to get here on foot.

Time – 8:15 A.M

I arrive in the shop to see that it's still close. _I guess they'll arrive by nine like usual._ I thought while opening the door to the shop. I put up the open sign, turning the lights on and waited at my station. While waiting for them to get here, I had a flashback. It was when my parents taught me how to use the piano. My father was taking pictures of me and mom. I looked at the piano on the back and next thing I knew I played a children's song. Mustering up some courage, I played Moonlight Sonata. I feel my tears coming up as I remembered the morning I heard it on the news. Eventually I stopped playing and was crying by myself.

"Are you ok Chui? Did you remember again?" I turned around and there was a boy. He appeared to be the same age as me. He has black hair and eyes. _Who is he? _I thought to myself and wiped my tears away. I stood up and faced him. He didn't answer me for a second; I looked at my bokken just five steps away from where I am. I looked at him again but all of a sudden, he is beside me holding my arm. Saying I was surprised would be an understatement, I was totally freaked out. I tensed and was about to make him let go when he did. He sat on the chair and played a peaceful song. It was not a song I know but it was very comforting. I closed my eyes as I listened to it. I wanted to hear more of it; it's the most beautiful song I just heard in my life. Once the song ended, I opened my eyes. _He's gone. I haven't asked what his name was…_

Returning to my desk, I saw a piece of wood. It had the same marking my parents gave me. I sat down and began to think really hard. _I haven't met him anywhere. I don't remember introducing myself so how the heck does he know my name?! _I heard the door closed and saw Mr. Fujimoto there.

"Are you feeling alright? You looked like you were expecting someone." He said but I just gave him a small smile. I turned my attention back to the wooden carving, picked it up and put it in my bag. _Will I see him again...?_ I thought to myself.


	4. Chapter 4

Meeting a Fox Chapter 3: The revealing

Third Person P.O.V

The sun was still rising and the entire area was still quiet. There is a walking figure with a bokken case, a school bag and a bicycle. This person is clearly a girl because of her attire and for some odd reason, she keeps looking behind her.

"I really can't shake the feeling that someone is watching me. So creepy..." Chui said while shuddering. She was currently headed to the shop when she had this intuition that someone was there. Chui keeps walking and soon enough, she reaches the shop. Lights were still off but the only wrong thing about the situation is that the door was open. She rushes inside; almost tripping by the door, hoping that it was the same boy she saw a couple of days ago. The door was opened, she looks around but no one was the there. In fact, nothing seems to be out of order. However, there is another wood piece in her desk. She picks it up and touches the markings on the surface.

"Snow" The character was clearly there and it looked like it was just made recently. Chui looks at it for a while. She opens her school bag and the other piece was sitting on top her notebooks.

Chui's P.O.V

Snow...but it's only fall. Who sends me these? Is it that boy?

I sat down in my chair and looked at the flowers in the catalog. There was a red rose bouquet, which was our bestseller during Valentine's Day, so I decided to make one.

The wrapping was a simple soft, white cloth; a satin ribbon is curled up on its side. One, two, three... Roses pile up on each other, their stems in a position that looks like they are hugging each other. The roses are set in each side, and then the wrapping envelops each rose in a warm embrace.

I look at the rose bouquet then at the vases on the stands. While carrying the flowers, I stood up and walked over there. I set them in a clear vase then walked a few steps back to admire it...that's what I planned to do. However, I bumped onto something hard and turned around quickly. My heart skipped a beat. I recognize the same eyes from yesterday and instantly moved several steps back.

"It's you..." I stopped talking since I notice my voice was shaking a bit. He just continues to look at me. He motions me towards the piano and we seat beside each other. I didn't know what to do or say so I just started playing "Eternal Snow" from Full Moon wo Sagashite. It was an anime I used to watch with my parents and so I started playing it on the piano too. He just listens then he joins in, using the keys on the other side of the piano. It sounded really pretty; I haven't played with anyone like this other than my mother. I frowned at the memory and forced my tears back. Too late, my tears fell and I stopped playing. I turned around so he wouldn't see me. My eyes were hurting. I couldn't remember the last time I cried. I kept crying when I felt his arms turn me towards him and did something that surprised me. He embraces me gently in his arms. I felt my tears stop; for some reason, I felt really calm at that moment. We stayed like that for a moment then he moved. He gave me a piece of paper and I looked at it.

"Fox" was written as if its calligraphy. I didn't understand what he was trying to tell me but when I looked up, he was gone… again. _What now?_ He keeps telling me these but I don't understand.

In English class… (Time skips…)

"Yugure Chui…" _was someone calling me? Who? _

"YUGURE-SAN!" I snapped back to reality and remembered I was in class. I looked up to Ms. Sakamoto, my classmates chuckling a bit.

"Pay attention in my class, Yugure-san. Oh, that reminds me. You have to see me after class." She says and I nod while opening my book and finding the page we were on. I looked at Manna, my childhood friend. She points in a paragraph, a page from where I was previously. I started reading the passage and then as soon as I finished, the bell rang. I gather my things and talk to Manna for a little bit. She says she was going to her aunt's home to take care of her cousins while her aunt is in a business trip. I bid her goodbye for the night. I walk to Ms. Sakamoto when I see her taking this big bag out. Well…, two big bags actually. One of them looks like the bag you put canvases in; the other was… a pet carrier larger than average size.

"Ok. Now here is the canvas for the painting I wanted you to make for me. You still have enough color, right?" She passes me the canvas bag. I held it and wondered how to bring it home but my eyes wander to the carrier; I looked questioningly at Ms. Sakamoto.

"Oh that's right. I have to give this to you. Don't worry about transportation. I have a friend driving his truck. You can put your bike and we can sit at the back." She smiles reassuringly, I must've been showing a "how do I carry this all the way back home" face.

Her friend had the truck waiting outside and we set up my bike with us at the back. The night sky was so dark and only a few stars were visible. It must be a new moon today that explains the emptiness. As the truck moved, I continued to look at Okinohigashi, my school's disappearing structure. About few miles later, Ms. Sakamoto is next to me with the carrier in the middle. I regain my voice and faced her.

"Umm… could you please explain to me about that carrier? Why do you have it? Was it just in the news today to make larger carriers?" I quickly asked her my questions and once I stopped, she smiled at me. I was a little embarrassed. _Do I seem that bothered by it? _

"Chui," _Ah! Ms. Sakamoto was calling me…_ I looked at her then waited for her explanation.

"Ok. I got your attention. Now, about the carrier… do you want to see what's inside?" She fiddled the lock and opened. A head pokes out…_a fox?_

"Why do you have a fox in there? How cute…" The fox moved halfway out of the carrier. I reach out to pet it. _It seems to like me._

"Chui, he is yours and you must take care of him. Everything will be explained when we get to your house." He inched back inside the carrier. I noticed we just stopped in front of my house. I opened the gate and turned on the lights inside the house. I moved my bike to the backyards, a good feet away from the shrine. I went back to give them a hand when I saw Ms. Sakamoto holding a duffel bag.

"Oh about this… I'll be living with you. Oh and by the way, you're moving to a new school" She holds her bag up and beamed at me.

"What!" I shout._ Moving? That means I have to go to kendo during midnight or worse, quit!? _I raise my hands to my head and decided…_Yep I do have a headache._

About few hours later… Time - 8:56

We finally finish moving her stuff to the room next to mine; both of us were in the living room with the fox still in the carrier. I tried to make it come out so that I can see it entirely but it seems to have other ideas. I hear Ms. Sakamoto saying something but I am too focused on making him come out.

"Come on out, come on..." I looked at it while gesturing it to come closer. Just then, a hard fan hit me right on the back of my head.

"Oh, so you think that it's okay to not listen to what I'm saying, like in classes eh? Now pay attention!"

"I understand." I rub my head to ease the pain from being hit by that thick fan. I hear Ms. Sakamoto's voice become distant as I looked at the fox again. She sighs.

"Well, it seems to me you want to see him out, right? Ok, let me explain about him first. Once he's out, listen to me okay?" I nod and turn my attention to her again.

"This fox, right here, will only respond to you if you call out his name. I won't tell you because it's your responsibility to know and call upon him when you need him. Now try to call out his name. I'll give you some time alone. If you need help, I'll be in the kitchen." She gets up and leaves the room.

"Now, let's see...what is your name? How am I supposed to know?" I think really hard. 'No use, I don't know...' Just then, I heard a voice.

"Call out my name. You know it in you. Call upon me, Chui!" I clutch my head and then I remembered the boy from before. I ran upstairs and opened my bag. The wooden pieces were still there. I ran back down and saw it looking at me. I was holding the pieces. I sit down and lay out in front of him.

"It's one of these, right? The boy gave me your name right? Ok tell me. "The fox looked at me then turned away_. I guess I must call out huh?_ He looks at me as if reading my thoughts.

"Yuki..." I watched as his ears stand up and he moved out of the carrier. I gasped when I saw five tails behind him. 'Foxes aren't supposed to have five tails! They are not also supposed to have a black color on their forehead.' I scoot away from it, a little unsure as to what might happen. He walks closer to me, close enough to my face and licked my cheek. I blink once... Twice... then blood rushed through my face; I was blushing really bad.

The door opens and Ms. Sakamoto enters with some tea. She looks at me and chuckles.

"From the look of your face, you found out his name, didn't you?"She carefully sets them in the coffee table and carries the carrier to an empty corner of the room. I stare at her then to Yuki. He moves to nuzzle at my neck; his tails moving behind then resting on my side. He settles down and I reluctantly reach out to pet him. His head rise up to meet my hand halfway... His fur is really warm and fluffy. I continue to pet him and watch as he relaxes in my touch. Ms. Sakamoto clears her voice.

"Now he's out. Pay attention... As I was saying from the start, you are his bearer. Keep that in mind. When the time comes, you must bond with him to make him into a nine-tailed fox. You mother was a bearer too..." She trails off, probably because of my expression. I shook my head.

"Please continue..." She nods and continues.

"It's in your blood. Your mother was a bearer and your father was one of him." She points to Yuki, who is on my lap, on his back, nibbling my finger. 'Wha? Why didn't I notice that?' I move my hand on his head and turn to Ms. Sakamoto again.

"Once you turn 18 in the next spring, you must bond with each other. After the ritual, you can stay together...maybe even have kids. Haha!" She laughs at my expression.

"Don't worry about that for now. Oh, by the way only you can see his five tails. Others can only see a regular fox. Make sure you are always together. Don't separate for at least more than two hours or else something might break your bond before you even form it yet. If that happens, tell me about it and I will teach you how to handle it." It was too much to take in one night but I understand some of them. Just then I remembered about the gift my parents left me that I found in the shrine. I poke Yuki and stands up.

"Ms. Sakamoto, I..." She raises her right hand up and shakes her head.

"From now on, call me Yoko. Hearing you say Ms. Sakamoto makes me feel old."

"Yoko-san...I have some questions. My parents gave me a parting gift I found in our shrine at the back when I was young. I'll go get them.'' I ran upstairs and opened my drawer. I held the two papers up with the chain. I saw Yuki entering my room. He moves beside me and I pet him. We walk back to the living room and I showed Yoko the gift.

"Ah, I see your parents thought ahead. Let me explain. These two papers..." She raises it along with the paper and I notice they're the same. 'The boy must know something about my parents. But how do I find him?' I thought to myself and came up with nothing. I listened to Yoko again.

"They are the marks that will appear on you when Yuki bites you. It will grow on your body until your 18th birthday. Until, the two of you are bonded. These are just to remind you what it will look like... And it seems to me, you and Yuki have met already." She gets this evil glint in her eyes.

"That's impossible. This is the first time I saw him." I tried to explain when I heard the same voice.

"How rude of you master, I was there for you the entire time. Surely you remember our first meeting..." I hear it in my head.

"Who are you?" I spoke out loud. Yoko waved a hand in front of me. I looked at her and she points to Yuki. He's looking at me. Suddenly, I remember a memory, _the boy in the flower shop_. I looked into Yuki's eyes. Sure enough, they 're similar. I hugged him, crying.

"How is it possible? You were there all this time." He comforted me when I was sad and watched over me all the time.

"Your parents wanted you to be happy. Yuki is your soul mate." She smiles and drinks some tea.

"Now about this chain necklace... This is their Christmas gift." She puts it in my hand.

"But I don't understand. How do you know all this?" Yoko looks at me and sighs.

"You're just like your mother. Nothing slips past her... Well, they were always meeting up with me since... Umm... I'm your aunt." As soon as she finished her sentence, my mouth dropped.

"It can't be..."

"Hey! Watch what you say...I may be in my twenties but I am still your aunt and legal guardian."

"No that's not what I meant. If you were my aunt, why was I put under Fujimoto-san's care?"

"Oh yeah about that... I was with someone out of the country." She smiles sheepishly and brought her hand to the back of her head.

"Oh...so are you going to stay with me?" I must have a really happy, child face since she chuckled.

"Yes. I'll be there for you. Now about that school..."

Good thing it was a weekend the next day. We talked about my new school which was right next to the dojo, _coincidence, maybe not_. My new school is just like a normal high school... Well, it's not really a new school. More like Okinohigashi was just moved and the time of classes was changed. Anyway, aside from living with my aunt, having a fox, and attending school in mornings, things were still fun. I would visit the shop a few times a week and meet up with in the dojo on weekends. Things were definitely more interesting.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 4: More from Past and What!? New Clothes

It is currently 9:00 am in the dojo and I was meditating. Yuki was beside me. I stood up and warmed myself up. I looked at Yuki and began petting his head. After a few minutes, my peers arrived and we began practice. We had to practice more since we have a tournament next week. Yuki stayed in a corner just watching me practice. We went home right after. I was riding my bike while he was running beside me at an easy pace.

We made our way to the backyard and I prayed a bit on the shrine. I left some treats and sake. We went inside and saw Yoko in the living room, drinking tea.

"You finally got back. There is one more thing you must learn. Yuki is coming to school with you."

"What! How? He can't go."

"Oh. You don't know yet. He can turn to human. All we have to do is to apply him with the same schedule. Leave everything to me. Don't worry about grades. I guarantee he's smarter than you." She waves us off. I went up to my room and Yuki settles on my bed. 'He can become human... I wonder what he looks like...' I thought then I heard the voice again.

"Of course I can." It was Yuki who have been speaking to me. I went to my closet and grabbed a red shirt and some black leggings. I hurried to the bathroom and changed. It took me a good five minutes and when I got out, I saw Yuki, still a fox, on my bed. He looks so cute no matter what angle I see him. For a few minutes, I continued to stare at him then I approached him. I tried to make as less noise as possible to sneak up on him. I was behind him now when he spoke.

"What is it, Master?"

"Nothing at all... Can… you show me your human form?" He glanced up and slowly stood. Gracefully jumping off from my bed, he settled in front of me. In a few seconds, Yuki began to glow. I could see his outline, his hands, his feet and his hair shortening. He was a human before me; I looked at his clothes and took note of the fact his are traditional clothing. It was black with red bamboo markings at the hem. The color contrast was interesting to me and I reached out to touch his clothes. It was soft but proven to be sturdy. His pale skin was brought out by the color schemes. _He looked…nice?_ _What am I saying? I mean, sure I was attracted to him but come on, I barely know him._ I was deep in thought that I didn't notice him sit down beside me. His arms pulled me in a warm embrace; I was taken aback. I try to move but he just tightens his grip on me. I couldn't move away so I just leaned back to him.

For some reason, the next thing I knew was that I was on his lap as he continues to cradle me. I felt safe and relaxed; I forgot how long since I have been this comfortable. We continued to stay like that for a while when I moved to get up. I went over to my closet and took out some paint tubes. After that, I opened the bag where the canvas was and started to paint. I started with the red moon I saw. The next stroke went to the thin clouds that were trying to hide the moon. Soon after, I painted the dark sky as I try to remember how it looked like. The time went by fast; I put the finishing touches to the lake. I stood up and Yuki looked closely at my work.

"Were you there when that happened?" His voice resonated through my room and I almost forgot to answer.

"Uh, no… I didn't" I trailed off, looking at him confused.

"Is that so?" He looked outside and the sun had set already. I glanced at the clock to see it was 7:53p.m. Yuki got hold of my hand then dragged me downstairs. Yoko saw us; she shouted something about dinner. I stopped for a few seconds then followed Yuki out the door. He's not in the front yard. All of a sudden, he appeared behind me and seated me on the back. He got on it and drove it really fast; I managed to cling to him for my dear life before I fell.

It was so fast that I doubt anyone noticed us. My voice disappeared as we went a mile per minute. Just then, I noticed we sort of slowed down as we passed through familiar scenery. Yuki came to a halt, offered his hand to help me off. I tried to move my legs but I couldn't so he lifted me up and settled me down to the path. He allowed me to lean on him until I got my strength back. I knew this place, it was Amahara Lake. The entire area was quiet but it sounded as if the forest was singing to us. I looked at Yuki confused on why he chose to bring me here. As if reading my mind, he spoke.

"Do you know where this is?"

"Is it not Amahara Lake?"

"That's right. When I was young, I come here every day; I have seen everything that has been happening since then, until I got the permission to leave. That was when I started seeing you and observing how you live."

"So you stalked me?"

"No. I was _observing_. It is different. By looking at how you live here, I got the gist of how to use that thing of yours." He pointed at my bike.

"You mean my bike?" He nodded. His entire figure started to move towards the lake. I quickly followed him.

"As I was saying, this is where I mainly grew up. Before I could turn into a human, I lived as a fox until I got my current five tails. There was someone I used to play with every red moon. She was also a fox but had 3 tails. She was younger than me. You probably won't believe me from how you reacted to my _unnatural fox features, _but she had this black fur that glistened with red streaks every time we met. We would meet up in this spot. Isn't it familiar?" He looked at me with a certain emotion I couldn't figure out.

I thought really hard but just when I was about to say I give up, Yuki made me look at the scene again. It clicked.

"It looks like my painting. Wow… what a coincidence." I said a little surprised. He nodded a little bit.

"Now you see how it surprised me."

"Gee, if it surprised you too much, I didn't see _surprise_ written on your face." I rolled my eyes a bit.

"It is almost time for the red moon. I want to show you my fox form."

"Haven't I seen it already?" I asked. He smirked a bit and spoke.

"Oh, my form is much bigger when it's a harvest moon." He motioned for me to move away. I stepped back until I reached a tree.

"Watch me, my bearer." The way he said it made my heart skip a beat. I blushed for a while then he started to change. He was his normal form before I began to notice he was increasing in height. His five tails were behind him, freely moving. He was way bigger than me now; he seemed to be about 10 feet tall. He laid down as I moved closer to him. I touched his nose then I moved to his neck. He is really cute… and fluffy too. I sat down near his side and he curled up to me. I felt really warm even if I wasn't wearing my sweater. It was really sleep-inviting so I did. I felt safe with Yuki by my side.

The next morning…

_Ring…Ring… Ring… Beep._

I turned the alarm clock off, trying to sleep some more. When I moved my head, a small ray of light met my face and I felt myself awaken. I noticed I'm in the bed and that it was really warm. It was tempting to go back to sleep but I decided to get up anyway…Only I couldn't. I felt arms around me and legs tangled with mine. I moved to look behind me when I found out it was only Yuki.

"Good morning" He says to me sleepily. We both got up and I went to take a bath; I got dressed into a white shirt, red sweater and blue jeans. I found him sitting on my bed, wearing his clothes. It was Sunday. _Maybe we should go shopping._ I went downstairs, followed by Yuki, to see Yoko in the kitchen making breakfast. She saw us and smiled.

"Had a good night sleep you two?" I nodded. At the moment, I noticed I was hungry at sat down. Yuki sat next to me. Yoko got the rice and sat down with us too.

"Itadakimasu" We started to eat. I didn't really think of anything, sort of was just relaxing. We were done eating and Yoko cleaned up our dishes. Since it was only 6:45 in the morning, I was not close to being late. Yuki followed me to my room upstairs. Suddenly, it occurred to me… what will he wear to school? My back was turned as I searched for something in the closet. _Oh what will he wear?!_ I was thinking about this for a good five minutes when it clicked. I grabbed Yuki's right hand and took my messenger bag. I dragged him downstairs and looked for Yoko. She was in the kitchen, reading the newspaper while drinking coffee.

"Yoko-san! We need to buy Yuki some clothes so that he looks a bit more modern." I exclaimed.

"Hmm… I guess you're right. Get in the car. I'll get the keys." She ordered. This should be fun. We drove to the mall near Kojimachi. This mall has many good employees and the clothes are really good quality. I was suddenly pulled out of thought when I felt Yuki tapping my shoulder.

"Is that person someone you know?" He pointed to a familiar face. Lacking my response, he stood in front of me protectively. I looked forward and I saw that it was Manna. _ Oh yeah! She works part-time here._ I moved to greet her when Yuki held my hand tighter. I gave him an assuring smile and we walked to greet Manna. She gave me a hug then looked at Yuki. She looked at our hands and smirked, seeing Yuki glaring around him._ What's that about?_

"My, my, what do we have here? To think I would see the day you date someone before me, I didn't even hear about this too. Oh good day, Ms. Sakamoto. " She greeted.

"We're not dating!" From the look of her eyes, she nodded disbelieving; I must've blushing a lot.

"Sure… Anyway what brings you here? Oh and just noticing now… why is he dressed like that? He looks as if he came from the Heian Period." She gestured to Yuki's traditional clothing for the day.

"Never mind that but I need your help. We need to get him new clothes. Any suggestions, I mean, you have the best fashion sense in school."

"Well, I guess I do… follow me I think we have something here." She and I talked all the way to the boy's section. During the entire time, Yuki still held my hand. _ What is he thinking about?_

A little of Yuki's P.O.V.

_ Chui should be more careful. I could see how those other guys look at her. I guess holding her hand will suffice for now. If the situation calls for it, I have to eliminate any chances that those people plan to get. I am her mate as she is mine. I must protect her no matter what… Chui's spirit is similar to her but is she the fox I met before? No it can't be… Chui is just my bearer. Could it? I have to talk to Iku-sama when she sleeps for the night._ I felt her tugging at my hand. She gave me some clothes and told me to go into a room with some cloth covering. It was very small. _Is this like the room where you change, like what she does in that room… was it called the bathroom?_ I looked at the pieces of clothing and found them to be really thin, more that my usual clothing. It was a white top with sleeves and some black pants? I noticed there were round plastic circles on one side and holes on the other. They must be paired up. After I finished dressing completely, I got out of the room. Chui was laughing with her friend when our eyes met. I noticed she looked a bit amazed then my eyes traveled to her arms. She was holding my previous clothes. Her friend broke the silence first.

"Wow, he cleans up pretty good. Nice boyfriend you got Chui." Chui blushed as her friend nudged her on the side. Suddenly, her friend got quiet and looked at Chui. My bearer looks worried. Her friend dashed away for a few minutes and came back with some clothes. She whispered something and Chui turned red. Before I got to say anything, she dragged Chui away. I looked at Yoko.

"Oh don't worry she's just trying out some. She may decide to buy it though. I mean, I bet she can't even remember the last time she went shopping for new clothes." She said while chuckling. The two of us were just waiting when she told me to return to my old clothes for now. I was getting a bit worried when I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Manna.

"Now, presenting… Chui!" My master walks toward us and I see her wearing a red kimono with black patterns of small flowers. She was beautiful. I could see her face matching her clothes. Eventually, our eyes met and I offered my hand to her. She smiles and takes my hand.

Chui's P.O.V.

_He's looking at me…we look like a couple from historical times._ Yuki is holding my left hand while my right was trying so desperately to hide the redness of my face. We did a little bit more shopping and finally had to go home. We have school tomorrow so need to sleep early. Once we got home, we ate dinner and went to bed.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 5: The New Visitor is whose younger brother?!

It was a fine day at school. Not many students paid attention to Yuki because all he seems to respond to was Chui and sometimes, Manna. Many tried so far as to get his email to which he replied...

"I don't need a phone. All I need is her every day." He replies bluntly then usually gets a "nudge" from Chui. Everyone knew at once, these two are inseparable. True to her word, her aunt arranged his schedule just like hers. So, in the end, he's with her 24/7. Not that Chui minded, in fact, she just recently started liking the fox. It was evident how she easily blushes at simple things. They were sitting together in Chemistry when her pencil drifted towards Yuki. She tries so desperately to stay focused when she reached Yuki's hand.

One thing she noticed while being together with him, he could be such a tease when he wants to. It was as if he has another personality. One who is a complete gentleman dedicating his life to her, then in a second, the most attractive person who only flirts and shows how much he loves her. Though, he usually only comes out when their alone. Back to the pencil, her hand touched his and he held her hand, squeezed it then got the pencil and gave it to her. It was almost a chain reaction every class, after something like that happen, she would blush to the fullest.

Mana almost found it too comical that her friend just couldn't confess when they're already like a couple. Chui may have been dense but Mana wasn't. She saw how protective he was of her best friend. It was really cute from how she was looking at it but a little jealous, she wanted to experience that too.

Manna P.O.V

_How I wish for something like that too… but right now, I have to be happy for the two of them. Oh I think Chui just broke her record for blushing less than 5 seconds. _

_Ping pang ping pong… it was the end of the day and you could say a last minute advisory…_

_Oh the bell rang. Miss Sakamoto should be here any minute. _I see our classmates starting to move around to their seats and face front. Only a few minutes later, Miss Sakamoto enters the room, _Hm? Who is he, a transfer student? He looks foreign…_

"Good morning class! Settle down, we have a new student here. Ok, introduce yourself!" She said, gesturing to the new kid. I looked at him and took note of his silver hair, it was very unusual… I also noticed his pale blue eyes. Wow, he looks very attractive. I looked around the room and thought about giving up, after seeing every girl in class stare at him. I snapped out in time to hear him say his name. His voice…

"Hello everyone, my name is Naoto Kitamura. I am Yuki's younger brother." There were gasps in the entire room. Even I looked as surprised as Chui…although, Yuki seems to be not quite welcoming. I saw Chui look at Yuki, he kept his glare on his "brother" but held Chui more protectively, if possible. Chui was just looking at him as she threw him a questioning look. I moved my gaze from them to the front of the room when I met a pair of azure eyes. I froze and instantly blushed.

_Few minutes ago while Manna was contemplating…_

Yoko P.O.V

"Naoto, sit next to Minagawa-san. Minagawa-san, please raise your hand" I said out loud, looking through the seating arrangements. I noticed Naoto has not moved and gazed up. _Minagawa-san, not you too! I knew that lack of attention span was contagious, just didn't expect my top student to do it. It must be my niece_, I mentally sighed. I tapped Naoto's shoulder and pointed to our student council president. Before Naoto moved, I motioned for him to listen as I whisper…

"Give her a small surprise, will you?" This Kitamura kid just nodded, surprisingly obedient like his brother. _What am I going to do? First, I have to babysit my niece and her mate, now I have to deal with his brother. Hm… I wonder if he comes to his senses and realize his real soul mate. This should help him interact with her first._ I nodded sending him off. I didn't exactly order him anything specific. But let's see how he plans on interacting with his real partner.

Naoto P.O.V

_After introducing myself, I focused on two souls: my destined and my brother. My princess, who I have loved ever since I saw her… why the heck is HE sitting next to her? I looked around more and noticed a pull and this female next to my destined is giving of a sweet scent. Very familiar but why is it so? The homeroom teacher must have noticed my reaction, she's strange. I don't feel very comfortable with her. _She told me to sit next to this sweet female. Telling me to surprise her, I planned on tapping her on the shoulder but when I was within her range, I had a curious though, "_What does her flustered face look like?_" After seeing her bright brown eyes, I moved away and sat next to her.

Manna P.O.V

_What just happened! Ahh! I'm so embarrassed. I couldn't look at him in the eye after that. Could things get any worse? _Just then I heard…

"Minagawa, as punishment for not listening to me, like Miss Dozing the First next to you…The three of you must show him around after school!" Ms. Sakamoto scolded. _No, that can't be true. Why did I jinx myself?_ _There was only a total of fifteen minutes before school ends but it felt like an hour. I couldn't just turn to Chui and speak to her because I don't want to be rude to Kitamura-kun. However, I don't know what I should talk to him about?! Ms. Sakamoto, why!? I made teary face. I guess I just have to act natural._

"So where are you from? Just curious…" I quickly added, he didn't answer so I looked up. I saw him looking behind me and I turned. It was Chui and Yuki-kun… _ah I see. It was Chui after all. How is it possible that attractive guys always pick her? What am I thinking? I shouldn't feel this way. I should support her because she's my best friend. But what should I do? She already has Yuki-kun… Oh well, that's life I guess._

While lost in thought, I barely noticed the bell rang. Chui snapped me out of my musing and I quickly packed my things. We showed him around the school, from the garden outside to the roof top. It went well, really nothing much happened. But it was too good to be true, until I saw Kitamura-kun facing Yuki-kun, who was in front of Chui, next to me. We were near the door but I was as confused as Chui when Kitamura-kun grew ears and a tail. I clung to Chui, a little scared when I also saw Yuki-kun look the same. _What is happening here?_


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 6 The Battle over his Nine-tailed Fox Princess: Who said anything about a bearer?

The air was thick; the clouds were dark all around them, as if it was going to rain in a few minutes. No one knew what was happening. Chui and Manna were behind Yuki as Naoto declared a battle to win Chui over. Manna didn't know what was happening but while everyone was busy, she contacted Ms. Sakamoto.

"Ms. Sakamoto, I have no idea what the heck is going on but you have to come to the rooftop. Stop them. " She whispered into the phone.

"Relax, Minagawa-san. I'm on my way." Yoko said into the phone to calm Manna. She closed her phone, sighed and stood up.

"Those kids, they are going to fight each other right now?! Didn't they think that it's easy to keep this matter a secret? However, I wouldn't really worry about Manna. After all, she is a very nice girl. Just thought that Naoto would've noticed when he saw her for the first time. How troublesome. These brats…" I closed the door and sat on my desk. I tried searching for my fox.

_"Hey, you! I need you to come here in school."_

_"What is it my love?"_

_"Don't start with me. I know what you did."_

_"Wha? Who told you? How did you find out about the secret dinner for our anniversary!?"_

_"Well, I didn't know about that… I do now. I was talking about sending Naoto here. I mean, I know he needs to meet his mate now that he's turned of age…"_

_"Oh about that? I know that it's about time he has to leave those delusions of being with his brother's mate. I mean, being her the princess…"_

_"I know that! But still, you could've waited till the weekend."_

_"Yeah but, it looks really nice up on the roof top."_

_"Fine… just come here. I need you to be here when we tell her the entire truth and show her the memories she lost."_

_"I will be there faster than you can say my name."_

_"Ok, I'll shut off the communication now."_ No response.

"Here goes nothing… Iku", I called out. Suddenly, I felt arms envelop me in a tight embrace.

"You called…" Iku was behind me. He carefully picked me up and put me down so we stood in front of each other. I took note of the nearly broken door.

"Let's go." I looked at my phone and laughed since it has been twenty minutes since Minagawa called. I could only imagine her panicking right now.

_Back in the rooftop…exactly twenty minutes ago…_

Chui P.O.V

"Yuki, answer me! What is happening?" I shouted at Yuki. I was so confused and worried that something bad might happen. Yuki turned to look at me when I noticed Naoto shifted.

"Yuki, watch out!" He evaded just in time, landing on the railing. At that moment, his hair grew and his five tails all came out. I looked at Naoto and saw his four tails. I guess it makes sense since he is younger. I thought about it more when I felt a dead grip on my right arm. It was Manna. I could tell she was really freaked out since she stopped responding for an entire minute and her black face told me she doesn't hear me. I shook her and she finally looked at me.

"Chui, what in the world?" she whispered to me, shaking a little.

"It's a long story. But for your sake, I'll tell you that they're not exactly normal. They are foxes and I am Yuki's bearer." If anything, I got a more confused expression, then she looked at me incredulously.

"I can't think straight but let me call Ms. Sakamoto." She hesitantly took her phone out. I focused again towards Yuki and Naoto.

_Present time…_

Naoto lunged towards Yuki as he simply evaded. Now Naoto was in front of me.

Yuki P.O.V

_Damn, I made a wrong move. _I saw Manna at the back on the phone. _Who the heck is she calling now!? She should be with Chui. _Naoto advanced to Chui and I growled. He ignored my warning and grabbed Chui's arm and blood. I saw her tears…Suddenly, everything went blank.

Chui P.O.V

Naoto grabbed my hand. It hurt a lot, I saw blood. _Was it mine? Yes, it was._ Naoto suddenly halted his actions, his ears stood up. I looked behind him. Yuki was looking down but he radiated this deadly aura. I tried calling out. But before I could say anything, Yuki growled and suddenly transformed into the huge fox I saw. His eyes were bloody red. He attacked Naoto. Having no choice, Naoto moved from in front of me up in the air. He turned and landed opposite of Yuki. Both of their teeth were ready to bite, toward each other. I touched Yuki's fur and must've smelled me; because he relaxed, but still glared and growled at the blue fox, who was Naoto. Just then, the door opened and Ms. Sakamoto entered, followed by another fox. I was about to ask when I heard Yuki and Naoto howl. Naoto jumped from the rooftop and made his way to Amahara Lake. Yuki went after him, leaving the four of us behind.

"Yoko! Why are they going there? What's going to-" I was cut off as she held up her hand and knelt down to whisper at her companion. Immediately, he transformed into a bigger fox and had us go on his back. We made our way to Amahara. Even Manna, who was really scared, insisted that she comes with us. We asked her but she didn't know why. From the corner of my eyes, I saw Yoko smiling. Seriously, this matter is filled with much information, I am so writing everything down into a book. We were nearing the area and I wondered how come no one has heard of this, with the ruckus going on.

"Yuki!" I called out as I saw him. He stopped to look at me, when I realized I shouldn't have called him. Naoto, who looked as if he was nearly defeated, attacked Yuki. I panicked and without knowing, I jumped. I heard Yoko and Manna calling after me and Yuki shook off Naoto, he hurried to catch me. He transformed into his half-human form as we landed. I held him so close; tears were streaming down my cheeks. He settled me down when he turned back and defended me against his brother. The fox, who I assumed was Yoko's, is still up in the air. Yuki took an entire tree from the ground throwing it at Naoto. His brother deflected it and it went towards Manna and Yoko. The fox had to evade quickly but Manna fell off.

"Ahh! " Manna shouted as she fell.

"No! Manna!" I shouted. _I was scared…no, not my best friend._ Yuki saw it but he stopped in his tracks. He made his way towards me, and rested around me. I was confused then I saw a shadow. It was Naoto! Using the last of his strength, he caught Manna just in time. He landed a few feet ahead us. He turned to his half-human form and he settled Manna down. He hugged her and this snapped Manna off her shock. They, together, fell to the ground, and I heard Naoto, he was crying. Yuki and I went to where they were.

"I don't know why but it killed me when I thought that you would…" he snuggled close to her, and suddenly he fell asleep.

"Don't worry, he's just tired. Yuki help him up. We need to get you guys to the lake." Yoko said, followed by her fox and the three of us behind.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 7: The Birthday What?

Manna P.O.V

Okay, let me see… I saw foxes that turned from half-humans who could disguise themselves as humans… I saw them fly off to Amahara Lake and Ms. Sakamoto also has a fox of her own… Yup, I believe I am ready to go to the mental wards. Although, I guess I should be grateful for Kitamura-kun for breaking my fall. But why would he say those words? We only met today…

Flashback…

"I don't know why but it killed me when I thought that you would…" he held her close to him, and suddenly he fell asleep.

"Don't worry, he's just tired. Yuki help him up. We need to get you guys to the lake." Yoko said, followed by her fox and the three of us behind.

Present…

He held me so gently in his arms, yet it was very strong, as if he does care about me. I am really confused, I thought he likes Chui; which was probably the reason… umm… Yuki and Kitamura-kun fought. Oh, what now? Thwack!

"Ow!" the back of my head really hurt. I looked up and froze. It was Ms. Sakamoto grasping a thick paper fan.

"The first was a mistake, but now you're exactly like my niece, ignoring me like that; what has the world come to?" She massage her temple while I noticed that the fox she came with was like relaxing her, in fact, it was nuzzling at her neck. She turned and gave the fox a little kiss on the nose then faced me.

"Ok. I'll repeat myself. Listen. Chui had been independent lately. You know that right?" I nodded as she continued.

"Now I decided that it was time for Chui, since it was nearing her 18th birthday, she needs to meet her soul mate, Yuki. These two were made for each other. Yuki was just getting situated when you guys went shopping." I nodded once more, showing her I was listening.

"Then this guy, Iku, over here, made a mistake of having Naoto arrive, to school and fight with Yuki. Of course, I assumed you found out he liked Chui but that wasn't the case." I looked at Chui who tending to Yuki. They stood up and joined us. Naoto was at my lap; Ms. Sakamoto said that he needed to rest for now.

"As I was saying, while they were fighting you fell and upon instinct, he used what remained of his to save you, his real mate. He was new to this so he got a little mixed up." She sat down, lying next to her fox.

Chui P.O.V

"Now Chui, there's something else you should know." Yoko told me.

"I knew it. This better be our last discussion about secrets, or so help me, I am really writing a guide book about this." I stood up; fuming then Yuki grabbed my hand and put me in his lap. He hugged me close. I felt myself calming down.

"Ok… Chui, you may have heard that Yuki had a childhood friend right? A three-tailed fox," I nodded, feeling a bit jealous of this person.

"Well he loved her but one day, she disappeared. It was the same day your parents died."

"What are you saying? I can't be that person. I am human." I felt more confused than ever.

"Actually, Chui your mother was a fox and your father was human. They met here, in this same place, where you and Yuki met years ago. Your father was taking pictures of the scenery when he came across your mother. We lived like the humans around us. Of course, your parents made sure that you lived well and worked hard enough, they became famous. They really loved you, and planned to tell you about this when you're 18. But fate took them before they could, so knowing this; they left you with the gifts I told you about before." I barely noticed I was crying I really missed them; hearing about my parents still made me cry, no matter how alone I've always been. Yuki held me again, patting my back and calming me down. I was still crying, actually, I couldn't stop. Suddenly, Yuki moved the hair covering my forehead. He kissed it and I was too surprised, I stopped crying.

"So I'm a three-tailed fox?" I inquired.

"Well not exactly. Do you remember what day it is today?" I looked at my watch and its past midnight. I thought about it really hard.

"Oh that's right. It's my birthday." She nodded.

"When we return home, we have to celebrate your coming-of-age. Oh that's right Manna; I called your parents and said you needed to stay the night in Chui's house." We nodded.

"Oh that reminds me, you guys stay at home tomorrow, no matter what. We have some catching up to do." She winked. Iku turned into half-human and hugged her. We both laughed and decided we would have dinner all of us when we get home, once Naoto wake up. Speaking of which, what happened to him? I looked over and saw he was just waking up. Manna looked at me in panic, shooting me a look that clearly said, "What should I do?" I motioned for her to calm down.

Manna P.O.V

Oh dear, what should I do? He's waking up! Chui help me, what should I do? I faced Naoto and saw his eyes open to reveal those pale blue eyes. He seemed to be hazy at first, and then his eyes focused on my brown ones. He closed his eyes again and moved to nuzzle at my stomach, he hugged me tightly. It was like this for five minutes and then his eyes opened to reveal a darker blue color. He looked at me and moved his face close to mine. He spoke.

"Manna… you alright?" I nodded, still blushing. He smiled and I felt myself falling all the more for him. I didn't realize I closed my eyes and was surprised when he kissed me. My eyes opened and tried to move, a little embarrassed. But he raised his hand and deepened the kiss. After a few seconds, I began to kiss back, only a bit. We moved back and his forehead against mine, he smiled at me.

"My beloved… I can't believe I wasted time looking at them when you were right in front of me." He told me.

"Well… umm… Kitamura-kun…" I stopped halfway when I saw him frown at me.

"Call me Naoto." He stated as a matter-of-factly. I blushed but I couldn't really call him that easily so…

"Then Nao-kun…" I beamed and smiled at him shyly.

"I guess that's a start." He smiled again, then he transformed into a blue fox. He tackled me so I was lying on the grass. He settled on top of me and nuzzled in my neck. I chuckled a bit. I brought my arms to wrap it around him. He's so cute.

Back at Chui's house (Chui P.O.V.)

"Don't worry. This house is big for all of us. You can use the guest room, settle there for a while. I'll be down here preparing dinner. You guys need to rest." Yoko told Manna and Naoto. Yuki and I went to my room while Manna guided Naoto to the one across. I closed the door and got some clothes from the closet.

"I'll take freshen up first, ok?" I said to Yuki, who was sitting down. He nodded and stood up to get his own change of clothes. I went in the bathroom and proceeded to begin my bubble bath. I removed my clothes and soaked in the tub. It was very relaxing. I haven't felt so tired like this since I started practicing kendo. I wasn't sure if it was just me, but my eyes drooped down and my body went under the bubbles. I fell asleep.

Yuki P.O.V

I was waiting for Chui to finish. I went downstairs and grabbed some milk, just in _case;_ she wanted some after a bath. I got into the room and noticed it has been nearly an hour. Should she be in there for that long? What if she gets light headed. I knocked on the door.

Tok Tok

No answer… I tried to see if the door was locked… it wasn't. I opened and went inside, looking around. I was shocked at what I saw. She's asleep in a tub full of bubbles!

"Chui! Are you okay?" I lifted her with my eyes closed and turned from her figure. I grabbed her bath towel and draped it around her. I dried her hair and laid her down the bed. Her face was still flushed so I opened the windows a bit. I think she's already light headed… I took my clothes and went in the bathroom, just taking a shower. The clothes I wore are my traditional ones. I saw Chui is almost waking up.

Chui P.O.V.

What happened? I remember being in the bathroom… have I fallen asleep? I gazed up and I saw Yuki, coming out of the shower.

"What happened?" I asked and he sighed, closing the windows.

"You fell asleep when I entered the bathroom…" he paused. I have a feeling there's a scolding coming up.

"Do you have any idea how worried I was?" he scolded me. See, told ya! I hung my head. He sighs again and I felt a weight on the bed.

"Come on. Let's go downstairs. You must eat something before you decide to sleep again." He held out his hand to me. I grabbed it and we went downstairs.

_The next day – at dinner _Yoko P.O.V.

"Thanks for dinner, it was great!" Manna said.

"You're welcome. Let's eat the cake, eh?" She replied. Chui stood and got a medium-sized cake out of the fridge. She handed them their portions. Although, no matter how good the cake is, everyone just ate dinner so they couldn't finish it. We watched some T.V. before calling it a night. Iku and I stayed at my room.

"Do you think she'll be surprised tomorrow?" Iku asked.

"Probably I haven't really told her that tomorrow's a new moon."

"You know, in the movie we watched… how come those wolf hybrids turned only at full moon? How come when we are of age, we turn on the day of a new moon?"

"I have no idea…I mean, aren't you the fox between us? How was your transformation like?"

"I guess, I was just like, 'Hey, look I transformed' and… why are you asking me? You were there!"

"Hehe… just kidding" I laughed so hard, I barely noticed he inched closer to me. I looked at him.

"What are you planning?" I playfully glared at him.

"Cuddling?" he gave me this cute look.

"Sure, why not?" I moved to the bed.

"Wait, Naoto's outside the door."

"What?" I exclaimed.

"What now?"

"Send him in…" I massaged my temple. Iku opened the door and Naoto came in fidgeting his hands.

"Umm… sensei… What should I do?" He brought his hands up, clutching his head.

"What is it?" _Wow, I feel like I've said that four-letter word question a million times today…_

"Well, it's Manna. I cuddle to her but she turns away."

"Here's an idea. Have you heard of human nature? When humans sleep, most of them tend to return to a fetus position. When that happens, cuddle to her. Also, they are creatures of habit. Do this to her everyday and she'll get used to your cuddling." Naoto nodded. _Well, at least he hasn't caught that ignoring syndrome, spreading wildfire since Chui was born. _Next thing, I knew I was staring at a closed door. I felt Iku, tugging my arm. I followed him to the bed and he lay a bit next to me. His arms were around my waist and our feet tangled. We fell asleep after a tiring day.

_At Manna and Naoto's room_ Manna P.O.V.

I heard the door open. Naoto left a few minutes ago, not really saying why. But it has been like fifteen minutes since he tried to snuggle near my stomach. I felt the bed dip and he hugged me from behind. I flinched.

"Nao-kun?"

"Hmm?"

"Is something the matter?"

"No… let me just hug you for now."

"Okay…" I closed my eyes and it was then I noticed how tired I really am. Soon, I fell asleep. I had a dream where a cute blue fox was in from of me. He looked really sad so I hugged him.

Naoto P.O.V.

_Well, this is another start._ I thought to myself as Manna turned around, facing me and hugged me. _Of course, I hugged her back. Not long after, I fell asleep._

_Chui's room_ Yuki

P.O.V.

_It has been a while since Chui fell asleep. Today is a new moon. I sat near the windows, waiting for the right time. There is no moon so I'll have to use the stars. I'm sorry but I have to disrupt your sleep today._ I opened the curtains to her room, leaving a second veil so that the process doesn't become too bright to disturb other humans. I created a small circle with my hands, using a bit of energy. I held it up near the night skies and soon, the blue circle expanded and became a mark. It was the same as my mark. This process would wake the fox blood in Chui; for her fox to meet me, this will complete the coming-of-age process. I moved towards her sleeping figure. I moved my hands apart, creating two of our bonding marks. I put one on her left shoulder and another on her right shoulder. Then I placed another on her collar bone. The light vanished then grew on her body, glowing in the dark room. I moved away from the bed to the door.

Suddenly, her physique sat up and her transformation began. Her black hair grew longer. The marks on her shoulders were evidently shining. She opened her eyes. It was vermillion. She floated towards me and held my face. She smiled, her teeth showing. Her nine tails were waving behind her. I reached out to her and she settled back on the ground. We sat on her bed as she moved my clothes' collar to reveal my neck. She bit, leaving her mark. I didn't see but knew that my eyes turned red as hers, only darker. I bit on her bare neck. We were both stung by the experience but now we are bonded. She smiled playfully and hugged me. We lay on our backs and soon we turned back to normal.

_The next morning…_ Yoko P.O.V.

"Kyaaaaaa!" A high-pitched scream made its way to every room in the house, making sure to disturb our sleep.

"Huh?! What the heck is going on now?" It was then stomped to Chui's room, grabbing Iku by a white shirt and shouted back. I crashed the door open and noticed Manna and Naoto coming out of their room. What we saw was Chui in her fox form, with a tail out and Yuki hugging her by the waist, still asleep.

"Mou! You woke us up just for this. Oh, get used to it." I know that my words have no insulting meaning behind it; Chui already knows I get cranky in the morning, especially when I don't wake up in peace. Chui jumped out of the bed, Yuki fell down, waking up. _Are you kidding? He didn't wake up from that scream._ I returned to my room, still dragging Iku, and fell back to sleep.


	9. Chapter 9 Omake

Meeting a Fox: Extra Chapter – High school Days (Omake)

It all started on a sunny afternoon during summer vacation…

"No." Yoko replied, ending any room for argument. However, knowing her two students, they won't stop even if she replied no for the nth time.

"Why not?" Chui and Manna whined at their teacher. Clearly, she wasn't giving in.

"Last time I checked, you all have the attention span of a preschooler…"

"Please, we promise to listen all the way." Chui begged with puppy eyes; Manna nods, both of their eyes shining with determination.

"Let me see… No."

"PPPLLLEEEEAAASSEEE!" They shrieked.

"Alright, Alright already. I get it. I'll tell you." Yoko said, not wanting to listen to their _harmless_ cries.

Just then Iku, Naoto, and Yuki enter the room. They were all in fox forms because Iku thought they should get better, not just in their human forms. Iku sits next to Yoko, his tail swaying playfully when she rubs behind his ears. Naoto lay on Manna's lap. Yuki lay next to Chui, his eyes closed while she pats his head.

"Okay. Here's what happened", Yoko started.

_Years ago… Third person P.O.V. (flashback)_

"_Class, we have a new student. Please welcome Odagiri Iku." The teacher introduced. Suddenly, an outburst from the class wafted in the classroom._

"_Kyaa! He's so cool"_

"_What's up everyone?" Iku shouted with an unwavering smile. His eyes land on one specific girl in the room. She doesn't seem to care much about his arrival. In fact, she seems irritated at the noisy event. Eventually, the teacher asked the class to quiet down._

"_Let's see… Ah! Odagiri-san, please seat next to Sakamoto. Raise your hand please." The same girl he was looking at raised her hand, not even looking up. He walks up and sits next to her, quickly invading her personal space._

"_Hey, what's your name?"_

"_Sakamoto Yoko" she replied in a soft, plain voice._

"_May I borrow your notes, Yoko-chan" he said while grinning._

"_Hn." She glared at him for such endearment but gave her notebook anyway._

"_Thanks, Sakamoto!"_

_Xxx Time skips: Lunch (Iku P.O.V.) xxX _

_Sakamoto was taking a nap under a shade of a big tree in the school yard. I walk over to her sleeping figure. I lay a soft kiss upon her forehead. I smile when I saw my mark silently glow. However, almost as it faded, she groaned as if waking up._

"You marked her on the first day of meeting, while she was taking a nap?" Chui asked.

"It's not marking yet. I need to bite her for that. I just kissed her forehead, that's all."

"Anyway, I woke up to his arms wrapped around me. His face was in my hair."

_Yoko P.O.V._

_I panicked so I grabbed a book, which I was reading prior to this event, and hit him directly on the head._

"_Ow…" he groaned with teary eyes._

"_Don't do that, kid." I said glaring into his pale eyes._

"_Kid? Hehe… I suppose so but I am older than you."_

"_Hn" I replied, slightly irritated to his happy-go-lucky face. I stood up and started walking away. He eagerly follows behind me._

"_Yoko." He said my name without honorifics. I didn't think it sounded wrong but it was out of my character to just let him express his endearment so I stopped walking. I was going to turn to shout at him but I felt his hand on my long, brown locks. Just on cue, there was a soft wind. I thought this seemed like a scene from one of those mangas._

"_Wha-" I started but when I turned around. I saw him, one eye opened, his lips meeting the tips of my hair. I blushed and became too flustered to speak. Once he let go of my hair, I ran. _

_Ever since he arrived in this school, I thought about him all the time. He is funny, weird, and smart. I was top of my class but for some reason, he came first on the class ranking. I would've ignored him, even if he got ahead of me in school. However, this guy likes to invade my personal space. My parents were always abroad so I was left at home. Hana was in an art school in Hokkaido. I am not used to the attention he was giving me so I tried my best to ignore him. Wherever I go, he's always there. He makes me all flustered and I can't focus much on class. But because of my good note-taking habits, I get good scores all the time._

_Xxx Yoko's 18__th__ birthday xxX_

_I wasn't expecting anything, really. Of all the days I was in school, this was the first time I felt so puzzled. A blue ribbon was on my shoe rack. I took the ribbon and changed my shoes. Before class started, I went to my locker and found a small card. It says,_

_Nothing could be compared,_

_To your beauty of one hue,_

_Time cannot be wasted,_

_For any time spent with you._

_I stared at this for a few minutes, carefully reading over it as many times as I could. I clutched the letter to my chest and felt myself tear up. It was the sweetest letter I've ever gotten. Just who is this person?_

_Xxx ONE DAY xxX_

_Instead of taking my usual spot under a tree, I went to the rooftop. I really didn't feel like getting his attention. I don't plan to but for some reason, call it a gift or a curse, I have every class with him so I decided to break the routine. The wind was very soft today. I decided to be relaxed today so I grabbed the blue ribbon from my hair. Almost instantly, my long hair moved along with the wind. I held the ribbon close to my chest. I closed my eyes and sang a small tune. It was short but I sang with hopes the person who gave me the ribbon hears it. As soon as I finished the song, I heard the sound of clapping from behind me. There, Iku stood and he was sitting near the door._

_Clap, Clap, Clap_

_I flinch and turned away. Then I forgot for a second that my hair was down and I remembered that time during lunch. Holding the ribbon in my hand, I made a motion to tie up my hair. Suddenly, his hands held my wrists and he said the words that broke my cold exterior._

"_Keep it down. I like it." He said. His fingers, moving to interlace with mine, felt so warm. I blushed. I don't think I've ever blushed this much in months. If I run away, it would seem like I am a coward who never faced my problems. Although I face my problems head-on, I don't think I can face him right now, even if he isn't one. I made a move to leave but he held me in a loving embrace. I was too shocked but didn't move. Just then, the school bell rang, indicating lunch was over. I squirmed a little and then he let me go. I ran as fast as I could; I was afraid that he would hear my beating heart. _

_Every time, after that, he would smile at me. Even though he has been doing that for 8 months, I was not used to his affections. People in school started thinking we were a couple but were too shy to admit it. I found myself thinking what it would seem like to be with him. He has always been open to expressing fondness to me. It made me feel warm even if it's the middle of winter. Then there came a very out-of-the-ordinary day._

_My parents contacted me via the computer. We were video-chatting._

"_Dearie, how are you over there?" My mom's voice wafted through my silent living room. _

"_I'm fine mom. How are you guys doing?"_

"_We are doing just fine. So how's school? Is there anyone who caught your attention yet? "_

"_My grades are great. Mom…"_

"_Yes?"_

"_Just wondering, there is this boy who has been showering me with all these affections. Should I…"_

"_Wait; let me call your father. He has to hear this." I saw my father on the screen, sitting behind my mother._

"_What is it, my little robin?"_

"_Uh… dad? I think I like this boy." _

"_Oh really… what is his name?" Did I mention my father has an updated file of everyone in my school?_

"_Odagiri Iku…"_

"_Just looked him up. Well, he's got skills, grades, and a strange, mysterious background… hmm… Okay, but let me meet him first."My dad read over his file in mere seconds and he already says yes?_

"_So when are you going to bring him over? I want to see him." I rubbed the back of my head and looked at my fingers nervously._

"_Oh… I see. You haven't talked to him. Well… whatever you plan to do, make sure to tell us."_

"_Your mother's right. Just tell us what happens. Oh! By the way, we just talked to Hana."_

"_Yeah, I was on the phone with her yesterday."_

"_It's good you two are doing okay. We're sorry we couldn't come to your birthday. Were you alone?"_

"_It's not that lonely."_

"_Kyaa! You got a little something from a certain someone."I proceeded to tell my parents about the letter. They were planning on making a novel about it. My father is my mother's editor. I remember the first time they met. But that's beside the point. I have never talked to my parents for more than 5 hours in a session. When we said good night, I saw it was already 9 o'clock. I went up to my room and prepared to sleep. While I was in the bathroom, washing my face, I heard a loud thump and a small mewling from my balcony. I quickly got dressed and went to check it out. There a bluish ash-colored fox lay with a sprained hind leg. I gasped and quickly carried it to my bed. Strangely enough, he didn't squirm out of my reach. If anything, I think this little guy likes me. Leaving the room to get a first-aid kit, I grabbed some water from the kitchen and return upstairs. He was laying still but his head lifted to see me shuffle through the room. I bandaged his injured leg. _

_Next thing I knew, he was jumping up and down. It was like he didn't have a sprain in any way. All of a sudden, he lunged forward, knocking me down on the floor. He licked my cheek and then snuggled at my hair. I was reminded of Iku. He removed himself from on top of me and ran towards the open window._

"_Wait. Will I see you again…? Take care." He nodded._

_The following day… I decided to wear my hair down today. But for some reason, my classmates approached me. I never talked to them but I know their names because… well, I dreamed of being student council, so I though memorizing everyone's name in school will give me an advantage. _

_Each conversation starter was directed at my hair. One guy from my homeroom touched my hair. Just then, Iku grabbed his hand and as soon as he let go, Iku brought me into a hug, clutching my hand still. _

"_Don't touch her. She's mine." I blushed. The crowd around my desk was dispersing like crazy. The bell rang, signaling the end of the day. I was still in his arms, thinking through what just happened. I felt Iku let my hand go. Turning around, I saw his eyes filled with anger and irritation. He advanced towards me and I felt afraid all at once. Iku noticed my movement and he sighed. Nevertheless, he walked towards me. I moved back and I stopped when I felt the window behind me. He held my hands and hit my forehead with his gently._

"_You fool… only show this to me. Only me and no one else… sorry I scared you. " I just nodded and he chuckled._

_Eventually I brought him to my house on one weekend. He seemed excited to seeing my house. Although, he seemed to know the way to my room… it's like he has seen it before. Anyway, we talked for a bit while waiting for my sister and parents to come up on the video chat. A few minutes, I introduced my parents to Iku. _

"_Mom, Dad, Hana… this is Iku." My parents and my sister looked at him and smiled._

"_Yoko, dear, can you make some tea for us?" _

"_Oh okay…" I left the room, not knowing what they were talking about. I made some tea when I noticed something that boiled my blood. I ran back to the room._

"_Mom, you can't drink tea from there!"_

"_Oh, you finally got it. Anyway, we talked with Iku and he's an A-Okay." I face-palmed instantly._

__X __

"So what did they talk about?" Manna asked.

"We were talking about the mating ritual and the marriage." Iku answered with a toothy grin.

__X __

_Eventually Iku and I said good night to my parents and family. Apparently, they talked to him about something straightforwardly. For them to talk to him while I was gone for 15 minutes, they must've been straight to the point._

_Xxx Christmas xxX_

_Iku and I decided to spend Christmas together. After so long, we became a couple. He confessed to me a few days after I introduced him to my family. Iku never told me about his home but he took me to Amahara Lake many times. Like our first date, he took me there for the first time and I wondered why I have never come across that place before. Anyway, so we got home. _

"_Ah… I really like your place. It's warm."_

"_Really, where do you live?"_

"_Umm… I guess it's about time I tell you."_

"_What?"_

"_I'm not human." Time stopped._

"_Well, you could've just said you didn't want to tell me, rather than saying that." He looks at me directly, his gaze unwavering._

"_You're serious?"He nods._

"_What do you mean?"_

"_Let me show you." His being was enveloped in a bright light in the living room. I haven't turned on the lights yet so from my perspective, it looked so magical. Is this even possible? When the light dimmed, I find myself staring at the same fox stuck on my balcony the other day._

"_That's you. Well, I guess it's a little shocking to hear about it now but I forgive you for keeping thi-" Just as I said those words, eight more tails sprouted behind him and I literally stared at him for the next few minutes. Slowly, he transformed again so he was more human-looking but kept his ears and one tail out._

"_Is that face supposed to be a good one?" He said softly, almost nervously. His ears were drooped down and tail was unmoving._

"_Wait a second. Let me process this for a bit." I held up my hands then smiled._

"_Okay, let's change clothes then eat dinner."_

"_Wha-? You're not afraid or angry."_

"_I'm a little angry you didn't tell me about your true form but that makes you yourself I guess. I wouldn't have you any other way." He got teary and jumped to give me a bear hug._

"_I really love you~" He said and kissed my cheek. I kissed and hugged him back. We ate dinner and then went to bed. We lay next to each other. I was asleep first due to his hair-caressing habit. My long hair, surrounding me, slid down his fingers effortlessly._

__X __

"Ah! Tell us about your bonding?" Chui and Manna said at the same time.

""I don't know… I guess, I mean, you have listened to my story more than my teaching."

""How about I tell them how this goes?" Iku volunteered. I nodded and leaned on his shoulder.

__X __

_Iku P.O.V._

_I caressed her hair until her breathing evened out. Standing up carefully, I moved my hands and used my forefinger to write an invisible sign on her forehead. My mark glowed and then the light moved to her hair and body. Her brown hair was streaked with gold highlights and her body showed lines. Upon reaching her finger tips, Yoko woke up. Her eyes were gleaming a bright blue, hiding her original amber eyes. I gestured forward, beckoning for her. She sat and moved to my embrace. I snapped my fingers and her eyes came back. Now, she was really awake. I saw her face reddened. I really love how she gets embarrassed by the smallest things._

"_Tonight, I will make our red string official and evident." _

"_... I love you." My eyes widen upon hearing her confession again. I kissed her._

"_I love you too, Yoko." I moved her long hair away from her neck._

"_This might sting a little." With that, I bit into her neck. I knew she was hurting even if all she had emitted was an inaudible gasp. I can feel her as I drank her blood. I moved away just in time to see her transform. She only has one tail because she was a human and her ears were adorable. I chuckled. After, her eyes glowed again and her teeth became sharpened. It did so only for the purpose of this ritual. She brought her hands upon my neck, tangling her fingers on my hair. She licks the spot and bites down. We exchanged our bloods and fell asleep that night._

__X __

"It was also around that time I met the morning side of Yoko."

"Really? I thought she wasn't one." Chui asked.

"She wasn't. I woke her up only to be tossed off the bed."


End file.
